Sahulat centres to be set up for farmers: CS

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to establish ‘Sahulat centres’ in every tehsil to provide quality pesticides to farmers at a controlled rate.

Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman presided over a video link meeting of all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to review cotton cultivation targets, measles situation and Suthra Punjab programme, at the Civil Secretariat.

The chief secretary directed the divisional commissioners of Bahawalpur, Multan and DG Khan to ensure full monitoring of the cotton crop. He said that the deputy commissioners must keep a close watch on the prices, supply and demand of urea fertilizer for the next two months and obtain the data about stocks and sales from fertilizer dealers on a daily basis.

The chief secretary mentioned that the improvement of health and education sectors is the priority of the government, adding that on the CM’s instructions, the health sector has been included in the key performance indicators (KPIs) set for the deputy commissioners. He ordered the authorities to launch a crackdown before Eid against the illegal sale points of cattle and form special squads for checking.

The administrative secretaries of the agriculture and health departments gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. The agriculture secretary said that the target of cotton sowing has been set at four million acres in the province, while the crop has been cultivated on 3.2 million acres so far. The health secretary said that the health department has issued instructions to all the districts to prevent measles. He said that 3,210 confirmed cases of measles and 22 deaths have been reported in the province this year. He said that 309 measles patients are being treated in hospitals at present. He mentioned that 19 medical camps have been established and clinic-on-wheels have been mobilised in the measles-outbreak areas. The secretary local government, all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated in the meeting through a video link.